Inappropriate Conduct

Did you know:

Inappropriate conduct includes bringing sexually explicit photographs, cartoons or objects to the workplace;

Horseplay, pranks, and other non-work related behaviors may be examples of inappropriate conduct;

Jokes (verbal, electronic, printed, or in any other medium) that demean people or have sexual, racial, religious or ethnic content are considered inappropriate; such inappropriate behavior can lead to harassment;

Workplace violence is any behavior which is severe, offensive, and intimidating enough to cause an individual to reasonably fear for his/her personal safety; and Inappropriate conduct, sexual harassment, and workplace violence are serious offenses and investigated thoroughly

What happens when violence or inappropriate conduct cases are reported?

Employee makes report/complaint to their immediate supervisor (or next in chain of command) or contacts HR’s Employee Relations Division;

In meeting with the employee, the supervisor gathers all preliminary information, without going into a full investigation;

Supervisors contact Employee Relations in HR to discuss the situation;

If the employee contacts HR’s Employee Relations Division, HR determines if an investigation is warranted.
HR Cannot honor requests of confidentiality from the employee if it will hinder an investigation of the allegations.

If HR determines the matter does not warrant investigation, the matter will be dropped unless more information arises that warrants investigation.
If an investigation is warranted, it is conducted.

How is disciplinary action determined?

After investigation of a complaint, representatives from the Department of Law, Human Resources, and the department in which the complaint was made convene an Executive Summary meeting to discuss appropriate disciplinary action;

Disciplinary actions may include suspension, termination, mandatory referral to EAP, demotion, or other actions deemed appropriate.

What happens if there is a difference of opinion on disciplinary action?

The ACM for the department decides what action to take. Typically a range of disciplinary actions is recommended from the Executive Summary meeting.

This process insures consistency in the application of the policies and disciplinary decisions.

For additional information please refer to the Harassment-free and Inappropriate Conduct policies in the Personnel Rules and Regulations or call the Employee Relations Division at 817-392-7790.

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Accommodations & Accessibility

Accommodations are available for residents who have accessibility requirements. To learn more about accessibility accommodations available from the City of Fort Worth, visit the Accessibility page or request an accommodation due to disability.